King and Country Call : New Zealanders, Conscription and the Great War

This is a study of the evolution of military conscription and the role it played in the political and social history of New Zealand in World War I. The author describes how during the first months of the war it was supposed that voluntary enlistment would be sufficient, but growing resentment of "shirkers" and demands for equality of sacrifice gradually convinced the government and people of the need for conscription. Drawing on a variety of archive material, Paul Baker attempts to convey a sense of the way each family was touched by this difficult issue.